Honda adds to hybrid line

The 2011 Honda CR-Z, which will go on sale this summer, takes the low-end hybrid segment in a new direction – sporty.

Honda’s back with another entry in the hybrid segment, this time a sporty two-seater called the CR-Z, which was introduced in production form at the recent Detroit auto show.

Originally shown as a concept vehicle at the 2007 Tokyo and 2008 Detroit auto shows, the CR-Z will go on sale this summer as somewhat of a replacement for the sporty CRX model that Honda enthusiasts loved in the 1980s.

What the CR-Z actually is, though, is a two-seat version of the Japanese automaker’s latest hybrid, the Insight, which debuted last year to anything but rave reviews. Looking like a slightly junior-size version of the groundbreaking Toyota Prius, the new Insight has yet to gain any traction in the marketplace.

As for the 2011 CR-Z, the hybrid part of the vehicle seems to be more of an afterthought than a primary consideration; the car is intended for the sport-performance crowd, not the “green” consumers who generally seem to want the most fuel-efficient, least polluting car they can find.

The latter group is sure to be as disappointed with the CR-Z as it is with the Insight, based on the CR-Z’s expected fuel economy — 36 mpg city/38 highway with the optional continuously variable automatic transmission or just 35/37 with the standard six-speed manual.

That’s way below the 51 mpg city/48 highway of the 2010 Prius and even the 40 city/43 highway of the 2010 Insight. And it’s almost criminal compared with the fuel economy of the original two-seat Insight, introduced in 2000, which averaged about 55 mpg but was reported by some owners to achieve well above that.

Even the Honda Civic hybrid does better than the CR-Z, with ratings of 40 city/45 highway.

Honda still does plan to roll out a hybrid version of its Fit subcompact late this year, though, and that one should have better fuel economy than any of Honda’s vehicles, hybrid or not.

With just the two seats and a slightly more powerful engine, the CR-Z will offer a bit more performance than the five-passenger Insight, but probably nothing like what was available with the original CRX and its Si variant.

And it won’t come close to the mileage of the gasoline-only Civic VX models of the late ’80s and early ’90s, which got up to 56 mpg on the highway without any kind of hybrid system.

With the earlier CRX models, Honda enthusiasts were able to tweak the performance to make them more fun to drive, but that probably won’t be advisable or even possible with the computerized hybrid drive system of the CR-Z.

Still, the car does take the low-end hybrid segment in a new direction — leaving stodgy and practical design behind in favor of sporty and exciting.

“The CR-Z is a personal sport-hybrid coupe for people with a spirit of adventure and an elevated sense of responsibility toward the environment,” John Mendel, American Honda Motor Co.’s executive vice president for sales, said during the Detroit rollout. “It’s the first hybrid designed to maximize style and fun, in addition to efficiency and economy.”

Under the hood is a 1.5-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine combined with an electric motor, a system that Honda calls Integrated Motor Assist. This is the same basic design used in other Honda hybrids and is more dependent on the gasoline engine than the two-mode full-hybrid models produced by Toyota, Ford and General Motors.

Honda says the CR-Z’s drivetrain “represents the sixth unique version” of its original Integrated Motor Assist, used on the 2000 Insight, the first hybrid vehicle introduced in North America.

The CR-Z’s gasoline engine, which has “intelligent” variable valve timing, does most of the work, while receiving boosts at startup and during hard acceleration from the 10-kilowatt electric motor.

This motor is powered by a 100-volt nickel-metal-hydride battery pack, which is recharged by the gasoline engine or by the turning of the wheels as the vehicle slows down, during which the electric motor actually changes roles and becomes a power generator. This is known as “regenerative braking.”

There is a total of 122 horsepower and 128 foot-pounds of torque available with the combination of the gasoline engine and electric motor.

As with other hybrids, the system’s controller automatically turns off the gasoline engine when the vehicle comes to a stop. That way the engine is not left to idle and to waste fuel.

In an obvious concession to the performance crowd, the CR-Z comes with a standard six-speed manual transmission. The CVT automatic is optional.

A three-mode drive system lets the driver select the sport, normal or economy driving mode, using three backlit buttons positioned left of the steering wheel.

The exterior has some of the look of the Insight but is more athletic, with a low-slung hood and swept tail. Although Honda calls it a coupe, it’s actually a hatchback, and there is a large cargo area that extends into the area where the similarly sized Insight has a three-passenger back seat.

Inside, there are premium fabric sport bucket seats, and there is a console with deep storage bins behind the seats in the area where the Insight’s back seat is installed. Behind that is a flat cargo floor, which extends to the rear of the front seats when the cargo bins are closed.

The instrument panel has a blue color theme that Honda says is designed to give it a “multilayered appearance.”